Quote from the article:
Several strategies can deal with persistent fatigue. In cancer patients, “the best evidence favors physical activity such as tai chi, yoga, walking or low-impact exercises,” said Christian Sinclair, an associate professor of palliative medicine at the University of Kansas Health System. The goal is to “gradually stretch patients’ stamina,” he said.
With long covid, however, doing too much too soon can backfire by causing post-exertional malaise. Pacing one’s activities is often recommended: doing only what’s most important when one’s energy level is highest and resting afterward.
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ME/CFS is only mentioned briefly in the context of an anecodote about someone with Long Covid.
The definition of PEM/PESE-based illness ie ME/CFS is 'inability to increase stamina/get fitter'.
Some PWME do not have that inability. I could and can definitely increase my stamina by physical exertion. Other people continue to do bodybuilding. Thus those limitations are a common symptoms of ME, but not an absolute condition of ME.
With long covid, however, doing too much too soon can backfire by causing post-exertional malaise. Pacing one’s activities is often recommended: doing only what’s most important when one’s energy level is highest and resting afterward.
wonder if there is anything else that tends to increase/decrease with age but might be more specifically described or measured than bucketing that as 'old people are fatigued'
"Resting" in the conventional sense is not an appropriate word for us, as well. There is an implied sense of recovery in the word "rest". We don't recover; we just try to stop before we make ourselves worse. At best, we stop because we can do no more. But there is little in the way of recovery. If we're lucky we can eventually reset to already absurdly reduced levels. We don't rest, we stop.
Agreed. And b12 declines but also lots of other conditions or issues tend to start featuring, older people sleep less and so on which could all produce fatigue which could actually be different types and things making for really interesting research and insight probablyAs people age they produce less and less stomach acid. This is the cause of indigestion and heartburn in many people, despite them usually being told they have "high levels" of stomach acid. And yet, the older people are the more likely they are to be prescribed drugs (PPIs and antacids) to reduce or stop their production of stomach acid. This leads to low nutrient levels, which then leads to fatigue. There are non-patentable drugs available which work well as artificial stomach acid. But PPIs and antacids make big pharma billions every years so indigestion and heart burn are here to stay.
Interesting - so they can increase their threshold by pushing it? or just by 'keeping at it'?
Given that PEM is considered a core defining feature of ME/CFS, I can’t see how someone can be able to go on increasing their activity without hitting a PEM threshold, and still be diagnosed with ME/CFS.
I cured my PEM, but I still have the other ME symptoms, unchanged, so does that disqualify me for ME, or just show a flaw in the criteria for diagnosing ME?
What are M.E symptoms that distinguishes it from other illnesses?
I've tried mito supplements many times (carnitine variants, Q10 etc) and they make me distinctly worse. Fatigue and brain fog increased significantly. I've seen some patients saying they help, i wish i was one of them.This comment is mostly not about ME but about older people and fatigue. One of the issues that contributes, probably to a varying degree, is the loss of capacity to convert CoQ9 to CoQ10 which typically begins around 50. CoQ10 supplements might help for older people. This is some limited evidence it might help with ME.
Personally I have done better on it, but I am not sure I did enough better to justify the cost. I am retrying it again now that I am over 60, and it is noticeably helping. This might not be due to any effect on ME though.
The first time I took a dose in about 1993 it threw me into a bout of amnesia for a day. We can indeed have adverse effects. ME is so complicated its impossible to make completely reliable assumptions about any treatment.I've tried mito supplements many times (carnitine variants, Q10 etc) and they make me distinctly worse.